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Library blends forgiving with giving

All will be forgiven if errant borrowers donate to the United Way when returning overdue materials by Dec. 20.

BROOKSVILLE - If you are delinquent in returning books to the Hernando County Public Library System and feel like a cad, don't fret.

Those who have disregarded return dates have the chance to avoid paying late fees and to perform an honor-restoring act of charity.

Through Dec. 20, libraries will waive late fees for all who return overdue books and other items in return for making a donation to the Hernando County United Way.

Although the library caps late fees at $5, the donation to the United Way can be for any amount. But it must be made in person at the time overdue materials are returned. Putting a few dollars in the pages of an overdue book and sliding it into a return box after hours won't do.

Assistant Library Services director Nancy Lovelock said the system's 70,000 registered users tend to be good about returning materials on time. Some however, are years delinquent, a behavior Lovelock has trouble understanding.

"I don't know if they forget about them or lose them or hide them away," she said.

Currently, the system has 5,825 overdue items. The materials have an estimated value of $145,000. By comparison, Lovelock estimated total late fees owed at just under $30,000.

So waiving fees could pay off, she said, if a significant amount of overdue books, tapes and CDs are returned.

"We hope that we get back a lot of those materials," Lovelock said, "because that's ultimately what we want."

Penny Zaphel, executive director of the county United Way, said waiving fees in return for donations was an exciting idea - Lovelock got it from a similar program in Palm Beach County.

Not only will it get valuable material back into the library system, Zaphel said, but it will bring money into her organization at a time when demand for services is great.

"Christmas is around the corner and we have gotten a lot of calls from people asking for help," she said. "This will give us a good boost."

Those with questions about the return program are asked to call the Hernando County Public Library System main branch at 754-4043.